Disclaimer: Every pregnancy is different. If you haven't had a baby yet, I am going to share some ugly that I dealt with in the first trimester, but I know many women who have no morning sickness, minimal fatigue and are literally glowing. And if you do, allow yourself to receive help, and you will get through it.
Symptoms
When I was pregnant with Gianna, I struggled with nausea towards the end of each day. It only lasted until around 12 weeks, so I felt very lucky. And yup, now I know I was super lucky. This little one kicked my butt. I started feeling nauseous right at 6 weeks pregnant and it was pretty much 24 hours a day until I was 17 weeks. I survived on pretzels, plain pasta, grilled cheese and saltines, and cooking dinner was pretty much impossible. Poor Nick ate whatever he could find when he got home as, by that point in the day, I was flat on the couch. I was still able to maintain working with all my clients, but typically threw up before or after each session. Yuck.
I was also SO tired. When I put Gigi down around 7:30 each night, I could usually make it until 8:00 before falling asleep, and would sleep until she woke up at 6:30am. I saved all my energy to teach, so my own workouts certainly suffered. When you go hard 6-7 days a week in the gym, you feel like you will just be able to "push through" fatigue. Not this level of tired. No ma'am. And all of you who do, you ROCK. I had a class member once who completed a giant burpee challenge and then threw up. Women are warriors. This time around, I was really grateful to accept help, mostly from my mama and husband, and take it as easy as I could. Growing a human is pretty much the biggest job ever. And I reminded myself, the fatigue had a purpose. Listening to your body is a skill. One I am not great at, but this was a great opportunity to practice what I preach.
Nutrition
Eating pretty much plain carbs for two months will not kill you or your baby. Read that again. I have coached clients who panic over the thought of stuffing their babies with limited vitamins and minerals. Please take that guilt off your shoulders. Mama, you are doing the best you can.
Here are some ways I tried to enhance my nutrition when everything made me 🤮 :
Buy organic and if tolerable, whole grain. At least I had the peace of mind that was my pasta wasn't covered in pesticides and had some fiber. Once in awhile I could handle the chickpea pasta, which was even better, as it contains protein.
Throw greens into a smoothie. This wasn't always easy for me, but during an hour I was feeling a bit better, I would make an almond milk & fruit smoothie and throw in some greens.
If you can afford it, order out more often. I had more of a tolerance to eat fresh salads or lean proteins if I didn't prepare them. Panera was my bestie, and we just accepted spending more this month on take out.
Workouts
This pregnancy was a bit easier to mentally cope with the significant reduction in my workouts. It was easier, but not easy. If you know me at all, you know I LOVE to workout. Seriously. I am the super weird person who gets excited when burpees and squat jumps are the finisher, and nothing compares to a post long run high. I don't wear a fitness watch because I don't want to calculate my workouts; I just want to enjoy them. So, when starting a workout forced me right to the bathroom, I was sad. I missed the feeling of being strong. I miss the accomplished, exhausted, yet exhilarated feeling a hard workout gives you. So, I met myself somewhere in the middle. This was my weekly split for week 6-16 of pregnancy:
Two "endurance" workouts: Usually walking, a few random runs or a spin rides for 45-60 minutes. Labor is no joke, and I really felt like my cardiovascular endurance helped make things easier and more enjoyable last time. My main goal here was to maintain my cardiovascular base until I was feeling better to push hard again.
Two strength workouts including pelvic floor work: These were around 30 minutes and typically were full body. I never lifted heavy and kept everything fairly low impact. I did try to spend 5-10 minutes on my core & lower back to help my body with the growing baby, and prepare for labor/postpartum.
If I was feeling up to it, one 30-45 minute Peloton yoga session. Physically this challenged my balance and core, both of which suffer in pregnancy. It also was so good mentally.
Boy or girl...
As with Gianna, we are finding out gender this time and I am so excited. Truthfully, all I want is a healthy baby and will be thrilled boy or girl. I love being a girl mom, but would also love to experience both genders! For fun, I like to look at the wives tales and this is what they say:
Cravings: Really not much, especially since I was so sick in the first trimester. Although the LAST thing I wanted was anything sweet, so I would have to say salty= BOY
Morning Sickness: Yup, yup yup = GIRL
Pregnancy "glow": I don't feel like I am glowing, but my skin is much better than it was with Gianna. Maybe because I am using Eminence Organic recommended by my facialist last pregnancy, but healthy complexion= BOY
Partner weight gain: Lol. I can't even wear my husband's clothes once I am over the halfway point because he is so tiny. Kid never gains weight, so I think this one is bologna, but no weight gain= BOY
Carrying high or low: I feel like I am carrying the same as I did with Gigi which is low. Wives tale= BOY (but obviously not true in Gigi's case)
High or low heart rate: High at both appointments= GIRL
Chinese Gender Chart= BOY
Mom intuition= BOY
Soon, we will see and I can't wait! Other mama's out there, don't you feel like once you found out the gender, or even just have the 3D picture of your human, your pregnancy feels so much more real. Second trimester rocks... limited sickness, energy returns, the kicks are starting (HANDS DOWN FAV THING EVER) AND you get a clear picture of your baby.
FAQ's
Weight gain: I do not own a scale. After a negative relationship with my scale during college, I got rid of it and are going on 5 years now scale free. Of course they weigh me at my appointments and at my 12 weeks appointment, I had gained 1 pound. Honestly if baby is healthy, I eat fairly healthy and still exercise, weight gain is really not my worry.
Stretch marks: Honestly, I feel like this has a genetic component. I was lazy with Gigi and slathered my growing belly when I remembered and didn't get any. I am still slathering when I remember with Palmers Cocoa Butter this time around, so hopefully will have the same result, but if not, they are a reminder of how badass it is your belly stretches 30-50 pounds in under 9 months.
Coffee: Lord knows I LOVE my coffee. Almost all trimester the smell of coffee made me so sick. I missed the ritual, but could not stomach the taste. Now that my appetite has returned, I definitely will have a cup or two of coffee, but try to remain under 200mg of caffeine each day.
If you have any other questions, especially workout related, send me an message and we can chat further!
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